Things of Beauty: March - April

Greetings old friends and true! Where has Éowyn been? Here and there and back again; literally, you see... 

I went to California. 

For two weeks and it was one of the deepest experiences I've been graced with so far.

Very Favorite Things

Deep creamy, sweet perfumed Irises, writing a scene for my Victorian short story (it takes place at a hotel in the Alps and the couple are so sweet), flying between the lightning and the stars (I could barely breath for the beauty of it), finding surprise birthday notes from my parents tucked around the house on my birthday, being sent random photos of our adorable pig courtesy of Arwen, fresh food discoveries (more revealed below!), snow banked mountain lakes cut from the sky...

Watching

Many good things, and some not so good as well. Most of the Poirot's starring David Suchet: definitely good, as in I'm-sobbing-so-hard-I think-I'll choke on certain episodes. And then there were the others such as Around the World in 80 Days (1989). I love the classic 50's one; I think it's brilliant in every way and one of the most splendid films ever made, even so I was willing to like another, I even wanted to. Did Heidi and I ever not know what we were getting into-! Let's just say it was both lacking in feel and indelicate in the extreme. :)

Reading

From The Two Towers to The Daughter Pays to the works of Louis Louis L'Amour and Elisabeth Grace Foley; March and April were months filled with favorites. 

Writing

Mainly glimpses of a western short story. Not a great deal altogether, but I wrote them all by hand (YES! To feeling more at ease writing with pen + paper) and the inspirations came to me in the most unexpected of places, which was thrilling

Out-Of-Doors

Cold days, record rains and shiny buttercups; you could say it's been lovely.

In the Kitchen

Being away from home opened up an entirely different array of ingredients for me and so naturally some exciting experiments followed. :) Favorites? Cereal mixed with protein powder and cinnamon and doused with almond milk; it was actually quite filling and, as cheerios have scarcely any sugar, not unhealthy in its way. Rotisserie roasted chicken - a breeze to cook, it is THE most delicious food EVAHHH!

Discoveries
Traveling by my lone self...
At first the mere idea of flying alone (in addition to being without my usual partners in crime for two weeks) unnerved me, but the deed was done and it finished with me finding the experience rather exhilarating. Tramping around in a place where the only one who knows your name is God is a thrilling experience, and a rather magical gift, the taste of which I found made me feel vividly alive.

Toasted (traditionally fermented) sourdough + refried beans w/salsa + (red) bell pepper
Be still my heart...  Crunchy, savory -sweet tastiness; eating this seriously changed my life.

The Sierra Nevadas
For years the Sierras have been mainly two things for me: places of high western romance and my mother's old stomping grounds, not so now. Even if they aren't my stomping grounds yet, I've met them, and you might say I've fallen just a little bit in love. :)